'Five years after its declaration of independence, Slovenia has still not come to terms with its communist past. The crimes committed by the communist regime in the post-war period have not been expiated, little progress is being made in the reparation of communist injustice, the return of private p... view more

'Five years after its declaration of independence, Slovenia has still not come to terms with its communist past. The crimes committed by the communist regime in the post-war period have not been expiated, little progress is being made in the reparation of communist injustice, the return of private property confiscated after the Second World War to its former owners is being retarded, formerly communal property is being arbitrarily privatised, if not to say misappropriated, the archives of the former secret services and of the former League of Communists of Slovenia are not readily accessible, and the particularly incriminating material has been destroyed. The author knows almost all leading Slovenian politicians, economists, trade unionists, diplomats, journalists and intellectuals personally. Public statements made by these persons, and in particular their being elected into key positions, make it possible to draw certain conclusions. Any attempt to illuminate, at least in part, how people are tackling the communist past in Slovenia has to rely primarily on letters to the editor published in the newspapers. Further contemporary eyewitnesses are those politicians with a clean record who, as members of parliament themselves, are examining how the communist past is now being handled in Slovenia. Some useful information is also available from various associations in which the victims of the communist regime's arbitrary rule have joined together.' (author's abstract)... view less